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| Role of SASB to facilitate Amarnath Yatra | | Avoidable Confrontation | | Neha
EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, June 3: Things relating to Shri Amarnath Yatra changed dramatically on August 1, 2000, when the militants attacked the base camp at Pahalgam and shot dead as many as twenty one pilgrims. The terrorist attack also left ten others, including security personnel and local civilians, dead and several others serious wounded. This was the first major terrorist attack on the pilgrims and it was obviously aimed at frightening and discouraging the Amarnath devotees. The dreaded attack in no way deterred the pilgrims. But more than that, it did not create animosity and bitterness between the local population and the pilgrims, although it provoked massive protests in Jammu and elsewhere in the country. The pilgrimage continued unabated with renewed zeal despite the militants' threats in 2003.
In the meantime, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir appointed a commission of inquiry to look into the sequence of events leading to the terrorist attack on the pilgrims at the Pahalgam base camp. It was appointed immediately after the Pahalgam carnage. It was a three-member commission, headed by Lt. Gen. J.R. Mukherjee, Security Advisor to the Government of India. C. Phunsog, the then Principal Secretary, Home Department, Jammu and Kashmir Government, and Ghulam Ahmad Pir, District Magistrate, Ananatnag, were its members.
The Mukherjee commission recommended the setting up of a shrine board on the pattern of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and suggested a control over the number of pilgrims. The commission suggested that the number of pilgrims should not exceed 1.5 lakh during the 30-day-long pilgrimage and that the State Government should fix quota for different states of the Union. As for the duration of the pilgrimage, the commission recommended that it should be one month. At the same time, it suggested that the period of the pilgrimage could be extended if the situation was normal and if the life of the ice lingam could be enhanced by controlling the temperature of the cave. The commission also suggested the opening of Baltal route much before the Pahalgam side to enable large number of pilgrims to visit the cave and reduce the rush during the period of pilgrimage. Its other recommendations included up-gradation of infra-structure and road communication, construction of permanent structures and installation of bhandaras (kitchens) and stalls en-route the holy cave.
Meanwhile, the number of pilgrims to the cave of Amarnath had increased manifold. The increase in the number of pilgrims attracted the attention of the government. Convinced that the pilgrimage had become somewhat unmanageable, the government of Farooq Abdullah enacted in 2000 Jammu and Kashmir Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Act (JKSASA). This Act, which is still in force, was also called Act No. XVII of 2000. It was enforced on February 2, 2001. This legislation was the brainchild of the government in the sense that none in the Hindu community had advocated the need for such legislation. It appears that the recommendations of Mukherjee commission and similar other commissions had motivated the State Government to enact the JKSASA.
The JKSASA, among other things, provided for the establishment of a board for the "better management of the Shri Amarnath Yatra, up-gradation of facilities for Holy pilgrims and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto". The board, styled as Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB), was established in 2001. As for the composition of the SASB, the Act says that "the administration, management and governance of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine and the Board Fund shall vest in a Board comprising a Chairman, and not more than ten Members". It also lays down that "the Governor of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, if he is a Hindu, shall be the ex-officio Chairman of Board, and if the Governor be not a Hindu, then he may nominate any eminent person of the State, professing the Hindu religion, and otherwise qualified to be a member to function as the Chairman of the Board".
The JKSASA, in addition, provided for the dissolution and suspension of the Board. In this context, it says: "If in the opinion of the Governor, the Board is not competent to perform or persistently makes default in performing the duties imposed on it under this Act or exceeds or abuses its powers the Governor may after due enquiry and after giving the Board reasonable opportunity of being heard, by order dissolve or supersede the Board and re-constitute another Board in accordance with this Act". As for the mode of decision-making, the Act laid down in unambiguous terms that "every decision of the Board shall, except as expressly provided by this Act, be passed by a majority of votes, (and) in case of equality of votes, the person presiding shall have a second or casting vote".
The formation of SASB was hailed by the Hindus. For the Muslims, it was virtually a non-event. They neither opposed it nor supported it. Some Muslims, however, did not appreciate the decision of the Shrine Board not to give any share to the progeny of Juma Malik out of the annual offerings at the Amarnath cave. They wanted the association of the Malik family with the Shrine Board as well as the Amarnath pilgrimage. The Shrine Board did not endorse their suggestion for reasons not really difficult to understand.
All this shows that the fundamental role of Shrine Board is to facilitate the Yatra and not create hindrances and ensure that nothing is done that in anyway outrages the sensitivities of the devotees of Lord Shiva. It is indeed fortunate that the Shrine Board, under Governor N N Vohra, is acting in a fashion that has given rise to a fierce controversy and that too on an issue that could be easily resolved. The issue is the duration of Yatra. Devotees want two-month-long Yatra and SASB insists on 45-day-long Yatra. Can't this issue be resolved? It can be. The SASB needs to take the initiative to resolve the controversy and make Yatra a smooth affair. |
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